With the threat of a thunderstorm on the horizon, it was questionable whether the show would get rained out on the second day of Bluesfest. However, with some luck and work by the volunteers, the show went on.
Kicking things off with a powerful and harmonic set of psychedelic rock, Ottawa’s own The Heavy Medicine Band left the Claridge Homes Stage crowd in awe with their powerful vocals and lush guitar riffs. Having played Bluesfest in 2014, The Heavy Medicine Band felt right at home despite playing on the much larger stage compared to the small and intimate Barney Danson Theatre that they occupied in years past.
The Heavy Medicine Band played songs off of their Conduit EP such as “Patterns,” as well as a few new unnamed tracks off of their yet to be released eight-track LP, which contains songs written alongside and before the release of Conduit.
One of the most unique attributes of their performance was their use of samples in between songs as interludes. This technique was a new addition to the bands repertoire and certainly kept the audience’s attention while the group switched instruments and prepared for their next set of songs.
“I got my hands on a loop station, so I just built some loops,” said Heavy Medicine guitarist Rob Cooke. “The waves we used were just radio static. The idea was it would give us some room to breathe instead of just turning over to the next song so fast.”
Bassist Sean Cooke went on to elaborate on the bands new experimentation with loops and sampling.
“It’s interesting because I feel like, as a band, we’re all sound manipulators,” Cooke said. “We all experiment a lot on our own, doing our own projects. So I feel like something like a loop station was just inevitable. It was just a matter of time before we incorporated that into our set.”
In contrast to The Heavy Medicine Band’s spacey and aural sound, Montreal singer songwriter Coeur de Pirate took the City Stage just across the field. She played through her bilingual set of upbeat songs, many from the newly released LP Roses. She managed to draw in a massive crowd with her transfixing stage presence and brilliant set of backing musicians to add to her already unique talent.
Australian bass guitarist Tal Wilkenfeld and Swedish singer songwriter Kristian Matsson, known better by his stage name, The Tallest Man on Earth, each respectively had marvelous sets of their own, away from the much grander main stages. However, Wilkenfeld and Matsson created an intimate experience for the crowd utilizing the space they had available to them and maximizing the small stage with their own large presence.
The final act for the night was Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, which took place on the exuberant City stage. Gallagher, half of acclaimed English rock band Oasis, played hits of his own making and a few songs made famous by the much loved sibling duo, such as “Champagne Supernova.”
Nostalgia was in the air, especially for older fans and fans of Oasis. But the crowd seemed to love him and gave a great reception to every song.
In all, the night ended on a positive note as the rain held off for the evening, which kept the crowds happy and hopeful for the remainder of the weekend.
